
The qilin, also spelled kylin (; Cantonese language: kay-lun; Hokkien: kee lin), or kirin (from Japanese), is a mythical hooved Chinese creature that is said to appear in conjunction with the arrival of a sage. It is a good omen that brings ''rui'' (; roughly translated as "serenity" or "prosperity"). It is often depicted with what looks like fire all over its body. ==The nature of the beast== Although it looks fearsome, the ''qilin'' only punishes sinners. It can walk on grass and yet not trample the blades and it can also walk on water. Being a peaceful creature, its diet does not include flesh. It takes great care when it walks never to tread on any living thing, and it is said to appear only in areas ruled by a wise and benevolent leader (some say even if this area is only a house). It is normally gentle but can become fierce if a pure person is threatened by a sinner, spouting flames from its mouth and exercising other fearsome powers that vary from story to story. ==Variations== There are variations in the appearance of the ''qilin'', even as seen in a single country such as China, owing to Culture differences between dynasties and regions. ===Ming dynasty example=== In the Ming dynasty of China (1368–1644) the ''qilin'' is represented as an ox-hooved animal with a dragon-like head surmounted by a pair of horns and flame–like head ornaments. ===A Qing dynasty example=== The ''qilin'' of China's subsequent Manchurian dominated Qing dynasty (1644–1911) is a much more fanciful animal. Manchurian depictions of the ''qilin'' depict a creature with the head of a dragon, the antlers of a deer, the skin and scales of a fish, the hoof of an ox and tail of a lion. ===In Japan=== In Japanese, the ''qilin'' is called a kirin. Japanese art tends to depict the ''qilin'' as more deer-like than in Chinese art. The word ''kirin'' has come to be used in modern Japanese language for a giraffe. Interestingly, in the Chinese hierarchy of mythological animals, the ''qilin'' is ranked as the second-most powerful creature after the Chinese dragon, but in Japan, the ''kirin'' occupies the top spot. For other uses of the word "kirin" see the Kirin article. ==See also== *chimera (creature) *Shaanxi Kylins of the Chinese Basketball Association Legendary creatures
NOTE:Due to the existance of Qilin as a redirect to Kirin I was not able to easily move the Kirin page (it trips over the redirect). Rather than enlist the aid of an administrator I copy-paste moved the contents. The History of the Qilin page prior to this move will be found in the Kirin page, now a disambiguation, and similarly for the history of the talk, it is on Talk:Kirin, now a redirect to this page. User:Leonard G. 05:34, 1 Jul 2004 (UTC) A kirin is a specifically ''Japanese'' version of the original Chinese ky-lin that is being discussed in this article. This article should be retitled, with Kirin as a redirect. User:Wetman 19:46, 30 Jun 2004 (UTC) :Pictures of Japanese version are needed. Since the beast has the same characteristics in multiple cultures (if not appearance), the inclusion into a single article seems appropriate to me. Articles can become overly fragmented by cultural choices. As the two examples are chinese, perhaps the whole article could be moved to Qilin. You might want to poll the other major contributors. : User:Leonard G. 19:56, 30 Jun 2004 (UTC) ::I'm generally against splitting and all for context myself. I didn't intend to make any hasty move myself, as I'm quite ignorant here. User:Wetman 20:00, 30 Jun 2004 (UTC) I agree with Leonard that if kirin and qilin has the same origin and base of mythology but only differ in regional appearance variation -- It is not very good to separate similar things up. A lot of redundancies will occur in kirin and qilin if they are separated. For example, the Chinese goddess of mercy Guanyin and its Japanese version (Kannon) are described on the same page. I never saw a Japanese kirin depiction before, but according to OED, it's basically the same:
See other meanings of words starting from letter:A | B | C | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | X | Y | Z |
Qilin
The qilin, also spelled kylin (; Cantonese language: kay-lun; Hokkien: kee lin), or kirin (from Japanese), is a mythical hooved Chinese creature that is said to appear in conjunction with the arrival of a sage. It is a good omen that brings ''rui'' (; roughly translated as "serenity" or "prosperity"). It is often depicted with what looks like fire all over its body. ==The nature of the beast== Although it looks fearsome, the ''qilin'' only punishes sinners. It can walk on grass and yet not trample the blades and it can also walk on water. Being a peaceful creature, its diet does not include flesh. It takes great care when it walks never to tread on any living thing, and it is said to appear only in areas ruled by a wise and benevolent leader (some say even if this area is only a house). It is normally gentle but can become fierce if a pure person is threatened by a sinner, spouting flames from its mouth and exercising other fearsome powers that vary from story to story. ==Variations== There are variations in the appearance of the ''qilin'', even as seen in a single country such as China, owing to Culture differences between dynasties and regions. ===Ming dynasty example=== In the Ming dynasty of China (1368–1644) the ''qilin'' is represented as an ox-hooved animal with a dragon-like head surmounted by a pair of horns and flame–like head ornaments. ===A Qing dynasty example=== The ''qilin'' of China's subsequent Manchurian dominated Qing dynasty (1644–1911) is a much more fanciful animal. Manchurian depictions of the ''qilin'' depict a creature with the head of a dragon, the antlers of a deer, the skin and scales of a fish, the hoof of an ox and tail of a lion. ===In Japan=== In Japanese, the ''qilin'' is called a kirin. Japanese art tends to depict the ''qilin'' as more deer-like than in Chinese art. The word ''kirin'' has come to be used in modern Japanese language for a giraffe. Interestingly, in the Chinese hierarchy of mythological animals, the ''qilin'' is ranked as the second-most powerful creature after the Chinese dragon, but in Japan, the ''kirin'' occupies the top spot. For other uses of the word "kirin" see the Kirin article. ==See also== *chimera (creature) *Shaanxi Kylins of the Chinese Basketball Association Legendary creatures
Qilin
NOTE:Due to the existance of Qilin as a redirect to Kirin I was not able to easily move the Kirin page (it trips over the redirect). Rather than enlist the aid of an administrator I copy-paste moved the contents. The History of the Qilin page prior to this move will be found in the Kirin page, now a disambiguation, and similarly for the history of the talk, it is on Talk:Kirin, now a redirect to this page. User:Leonard G. 05:34, 1 Jul 2004 (UTC) A kirin is a specifically ''Japanese'' version of the original Chinese ky-lin that is being discussed in this article. This article should be retitled, with Kirin as a redirect. User:Wetman 19:46, 30 Jun 2004 (UTC) :Pictures of Japanese version are needed. Since the beast has the same characteristics in multiple cultures (if not appearance), the inclusion into a single article seems appropriate to me. Articles can become overly fragmented by cultural choices. As the two examples are chinese, perhaps the whole article could be moved to Qilin. You might want to poll the other major contributors. : User:Leonard G. 19:56, 30 Jun 2004 (UTC) ::I'm generally against splitting and all for context myself. I didn't intend to make any hasty move myself, as I'm quite ignorant here. User:Wetman 20:00, 30 Jun 2004 (UTC) I agree with Leonard that if kirin and qilin has the same origin and base of mythology but only differ in regional appearance variation -- It is not very good to separate similar things up. A lot of redundancies will occur in kirin and qilin if they are separated. For example, the Chinese goddess of mercy Guanyin and its Japanese version (Kannon) are described on the same page. I never saw a Japanese kirin depiction before, but according to OED, it's basically the same:
Kirin [Jap., f. Chinese (see KYLIN).], A fabulous beast of composite form, freq. portrayed in Japanese pottery and art (see quots.); = KYLIN.Just for comparison, OED's entry on ''kylin'':
1900 F. LITCHFIELD Pott. & Porc. vii. 172 Figure subjects are not common in this kind of china, but one finds representations of..the Kirin.., a monster with the body and hoofs of a deer, the tail of a bull, and a horn on his forehead.
Kylin, [ad. Chinese ''chi-lin'' (Wade), f. ''chi'' male + ''lin'' female.]As to the title, I don't feel strongly either way. But ''qilin'' is probably more suitable, even if this page describes kirin as well (not that it differs much, according to OED). Because qilin, the Chinese version, is the original "ancestor" version. --User:Menchi 20:53, 30 Jun 2004 (UTC) I'll move the page if no one else does, the only question is which is the appropriate romanization in Chinese. I leave that up to those more expert in this matter. Post here, or just relocate the page. I can track down the links to avoid needed redirects where encounterd. It seems that the Kirin entry, rather than a redirect, should be a disambiguation - that way we don't have to mention ''beer'' on this page. Then we could chase down kirin links and direct them (hidden) to qilin (or whatever is chosen for this page). We still need a Kirin image - can we find anyone with this? Next time I go on tour I will post an itinerary and ask for picture requests. Now that I am editing I can recall sooo many things that I ''coulda, woulda, shoulda'' taken pictures of, but saw no need for my particular shows. User:Leonard G. 02:50, 1 Jul 2004 (UTC) See move note at top of page User:Leonard G. 05:34, 1 Jul 2004 (UTC) I went through all links to Kirin. * Japanese reference to Kirin beer - no change, goes to Kirin disambiguation page. * Chinese references to Kirin - changed to Qilin * Japanese references to Kirin beast, changed to hidden link to Qilin * Chinese references to Kirin town - no change, goes to Kirin disambiguation page I believe that the move is now complete. User:Leonard G. 06:12, 1 Jul 2004 (UTC)
A fabulous animal of composite form, commonly figured on Chinese and Japanese pottery. According to the ''Erh Ya'', it has the body of a deer, the tail of an ox, and a single horn, from which it is often called the Chinese Unicorn’ (Mayers' Chinese Reader's Man., Shanghai, 1874, 127).
See other meanings of words starting from letter:A | B | C | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | X | Y | Z |
These materials are based on Wikipedia and licensed under the GNU FDL
YouTube.com videos better site than Turbo Tax 2007
